NFL 2022: Football Food For Thought (Week 1)

It was another fascinating offseason for the National Football League. But now the time is talk is over and all 32 teams are back to the business of getting to the Super Bowl.

There will be a 16-game slate during each of the first weeks of this season. So how about some stats and facts when it comes to the Week 1 schedule?

NOTE: 2021 regular-season win-loss records in parentheses

Thursday, Sept. 8

Buffalo (11-6) at L.A. Rams (12-5): In 2017, the Bills hired Sean McDermott and the Rams hired Sean McVay. Since then, Buffalo owns a 49-32 regular-season record and Los Angeles a 55-26 mark. Both teams have been to the playoffs four times – the difference being the Rams have made two Super Bowl appearances and the Bills zero.

Sunday, Sept. 11

New Orleans (9-8) at Atlanta (7-10): Déjà vu? Saints’ quarterback Jameis Winston (Florida State) and Falcons’ signal-caller Marcus Mariota (Oregon) faced each other in 2014 college football playoffs and then in the first game of the 2015 NFL season as the first and second overall picks by the Buccaneers and Titans, respectively.

Cleveland (8-9) at Carolina (5-12): Jacoby Brissett will be the 33rd different starting quarterback for the Browns dating back to the team’s return to the NFL in 1999. The 30th quarterback on that list was current Panthers’ signal-caller Baker Mayfield, who was traded to Carolina this offseason.

San Francisco (10-7) at Chicago (6-11): A year ago, Kyle Shanahan’s club had its way with the NFC North. Including the split with Green Bay (including playoffs), the 49ers were a combined 4-1 vs. the Bears, Packers, Vikings and Lions. But including the NFC title game loss to the Rams, the Niners were just 2-5 vs. their NFC North rivals.

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Pittsburgh (9-7-1) at Cincinnati (10-7): A season ago, the eventual AFC champions swept the rival Steelers for the first time since 2009. The Bengals have now prevailed in the last three meetings between these clubs. Prior to that, Pittsburgh owned an 11-game winning streak in this series – including a triumph in the 2015 wild card playoffs.

Philadelphia (9-8) at Detroit (3-13-1): A year ago at Ford Field (Week 8), Nick Sirianni’s club rolled to a 44-6 win. In 2021, only the Jets (504) gave up more points than Dan Campbell’s team (467). A year earlier, Detroit allowed 519 points – the second-highest single-season total in NFL history. Can the Lions slow down Jalen Hurts and company?

Indianapolis (9-8) at Houston (4-13): This is certainly one of the more lopsided divisional rivalries in recent memory. The Texans entered the NFL in 2002 and own a dismal 9-32 overall record vs. the Colts. That includes a 21-7 playoff loss in 2018 at home. Indianapolis has prevailed in seven of the last eight overall meetings.

New England (10-7) at Miami (9-8): The Dolphins open the season vs. the Patriots for the third consecutive year. And speaking of threes, that is the current winning streak by Miami in this longtime rivalry. It’s also the longest stretch of success by the Dolphins over the Pats since winning five in a row from 1999-2001.

Baltimore (8-9) at N.Y. Jets (4-13): Joe Flacco was the quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens for 11 seasons and helped lead the franchise to a win in Super Bowl XLVII in 2012 – earning game MVP honors. He will begin his third season with the New York Jets and will face his former team for the first time.

Jacksonville (3-14) at Washington (7-10): Since winning the AFC South with a 10-6 record and reaching the conference title game in 2017, the Jaguars own a combined 15-50 record. The focus here could be a swapping of the guards as Andrew Norwell and Brandon Scherff are now in Washington and Jacksonville, respectively.

Kansas City (12-5) at Arizona (11-6): The last time Andy Reid’s team didn’t win its season opener was 2014, which is also the last time the Chiefs failed to reach the playoffs. But Kansas City is in the midst of another interesting streak. Dating back to Week 9 of 2019, Reid’s squad has won 11 straight regular-season games vs. NFC clubs.

Las Vegas (10-7) at L.A. Chargers (9-8): Talk about an oddity when it comes to the numbers? In 2021, the Raiders finished 10-7 and reached the playoffs with a negative scoring differential (minus-65). The Chargers owned a 9-8 record but outscored its opponents by a combined 15 points (474-459).

Green Bay (13-4) at Minnesota (8-9): Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers has usually had his way with the Purple Gang. In 28 career meetings (27 starts) vs. the Vikings (including playoffs), he’s thrown for a combined 7,077 yards and 57 touchdowns while serving up only seven interceptions. Rodgers has been sacked 75 times in those games.

N.Y. Giants (4-13) at Tennessee (12-5): It has been a very rough five-year stretch for the Giants, who will now be led by new head coach Brian Daboll. The team heads to Nashville looking to end a seven-game road losing streak dating back to Week 5 of 2021. Over the past five seasons, Big Blue owns a dismal 10-31 mark away from home.

Sunday night

Tampa Bay (13-4) at Dallas (12-5): This will mark the seventh time that quarterback Tom Brady has faced the Cowboys. There were five encounters while he was a member of the Patriots. A year ago, the current Buccaneers’ signal-caller faced Dallas in the Thursday night opener. And Brady owns a perfect 6-0 record vs. the Cowboys.

Monday, Sept. 12

Denver (7-10) at Seattle (7-10): It’s a battle of last-place teams from a year ago. Back in 2013, the Broncos were defeated by the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII led by a relentless defense and quarterback Russell Wilson. Now the latter looks to lead Denver back to the playoffs for the first time since that club captured Super Bowl 50.